Some Other Time, Some Other Me
by Wolf in the Walls
Summary: All kingdoms have fallen, and the officers are scattered. When two rising conquerers buy Ling Tong and Lu Xun into their services, the hope of a peaceful China suddenly seems within reach...
1. Bitter

**Some Other Time, Some Other Me**

And I have come with a fic! Another Dynasty Warriors fic!

And also...now that I am in possession of Romance of the Three Kingdoms...and DW5XL...I will be insane now.

This is based on an idea that my friend Jessi and I came up with when we were playing Xtreme Mode in XL.

Her character is Shai Van (ex-pirate and former bandit leader) and she owns all the rights to her.

My character is Ghost (lone pupil of Zuo Ci) and she is mine and mine alone. We own nothing else...

I hope you enjoy this, and constructive criticism is always helpful, as are ideas. Always fun. As said, this is based on Xtreme Mode.

--

**Some Other Time, Some Other Me**

**Bitter**

_It's like I can't breathe  
It's like I can't feel anything  
Nothing but you  
It's like I'm addicted to you  
It's like I can't be  
Without you interrupting me  
In my thoughts  
In my dreams  
It's like I'm not me_

Lu Xun slowly opened one eye to the faint light shining through the tiny window. The boy slowly sat up and raised his bound hands to rub the sleep of his eye. He was gentle, for his right eye was bruised black from a minor fight with his other "inmates" around him. The world was in hell. China stood without the three kingdoms, all their rulers fallen and their officers either captured by the people, become bandits, or dead. Lu Xun wondered if he would have been better off dead.

His eyes slowly surveyed his surroundings. A few of the other slaves-for-sale were starting to wake up. Lu Xun then inspected himself. His hat, coat, and boots were out in the main shop, on sale for twenty gold each. What was remaining of his clothes were torn and splattered with mud and blood. This was his life now. No more battle. No more comfort at night.

No more friends.

Ling Tong had been bought a while ago, too long to continue to count. The woman who bought him seemed nice enough when Lu Xun saw her. She had her black hair back in a similar ponytail (similar to Ling Tong anyways) and wore white jerkin pants with a white dancer's top. She carried a pirate's sword with her...much like Gan Ning. But he was gone now. Who knows where he was with that woman. Maybe they had found a room of their own, or gotten married on a ship and together continued to carry out Gan Ning's legacy. Lu Xun just didn't know.

The bell rang overhead and the small door opened. The owner, a man so daunting that Lu Bu would have been put to shame, walked in and looked over the forlorn group. He pulled a few ropes from his pocket and set to work. Lu Xun was the first, as usual. A rope was tied uncomfortably around his neck and he was dragged from the room. The rope was tied to a post outside the shop. There were three posts, and they normally rotated throughout the day, normal except for Lu Xun. He stayed out every day, well into the after hours of the city.

Today just seemed different. The streets were unusually empty and a menacing gray cloud was moving in from the west. Lu Xun sighed and leaned against his post, closing his eyes momentarily.

"There's a sale on baozi! Shai Van, we probably should stock up."

A familiar voice snapped Lu Xun back to attention. There, right across the road, was Ling Tong, looking no different than the day he had left. And the woman he was with didn't look any different either. Ling Tong was roaming about freely, with his Rising Phoenix nunchaku at his side as well. Lu Xun's jaw almost dropped in awe. He never thought he's see his friend again.

A rough hand grabbed a handful of his hair. A large, overly-wealthy-looking man jerked the boy's head to the side and seemed to look him over. Lu Xun scowled and tried to pull away, but the man then tugged sharply on the leash connecting Lu Xun to the post, causing him to yelp in pain.

"How much for this one?" The man asked.

Lu Xun's cry had alerted Ling Tong. He spun around from what he was doing and alerted Shai Van to the situation. She turned and looked.

"Is he a friend of yours?" She asked.

"Yes, ma'am." Ling Tong said respectfully, his foot tapping in anxiety and nervousness as he watched what was happening to his friend.

"Ghost could use someone...don't you think?"

Lu Xun cried out as the rich man jabbed his thumb into the bruise around his left eye. He tried to get away again but the owner whipped him once and the customer yanked on the rope. It was growing painfully tight, and Lu Xun was finding it harder to breathe. He struggled, not at all wanting any of this.

"Mind my askin' what yur gonna use 'im fer?" The owner asked. The rich man smiled grimly.

"I just need a whore-boy. My last one...passed on." The man answered, looking Lu Xun over again.

"This 'un's 'pensive. 150 gold." The owner said.

"20." The rich man replied.

"100."

"45."

"200."

They stopped at the sound of Shai Van's voice. She stood, rather intimidating, before them, with Ling Tong at her side carrying a container of baozi. The rich man glared.

"You already have a boy."

"I want that one. A gift for a friend. I'm offering 200 gold for him, plus another 50 each for his hat, coat, and boots."

The owner considered it for a moment, but when Shai Van produced a large bag of gold, he was sold then and there. The rich man scowled and stomped off. Ling Tong went and collected Lu Xun's clothing while the owner cut the leash and instead tied it to Lu Xun's already bound wrists. Shai Van took the rope and they were soon out of the city, she and Ling Tong on horseback with Lu Xun following on foot.

"So, boy, you got a name?" Shai Van asked.

"Lu Xun, miss." He said softly.

"How do you and Tong know each other?"

"We were war buddies! I told you about him." Ling Tong said. Shai Van nodded.

"Do you think Ghost will like him?" Shai Van asked.

"I don't see why not. He's smart, he's strong, he's fast. I think she'll like him. I just hope she doesn't end up killing him. I mean, sure what I had to go through for my whole loyalty test was rough but I hope that Ghost doesn't go overboard." Ling Tong replied.

Lu Xun stayed silent until the little house came into view. The sky had turned dark, and thunder rumbled low in the distance. Shai Van took Lu Xun's rope while Ling Tong put the horses away. She led the boy inside.

The house was small...quaint but not cramped. There were two bedrooms, and a large living room. Sitting on a pillow, levitating red and gold cards around her, was who Lu Xun assumed was Ghost. Her eyes were closed, and she almost looked ethereal with the fire next to her. Her hair was the color of a bay horse, cropped short and spiky. She had a minor mole on her chin. She wore red clothes that looked like they were from the Nanman area, and there were reddish-purple tattoos on her arms. Shai Van knocked on the wood doorway before entering.

"We're home, and we brought you a gift." She announced.

Ghost opened her green eyes, the cards shuffling back to a pile in front of her. She stretched and stood up, stretching again. Ling Tong entered with the clothes and the baozi. Ghost hugged him and he shuffled off to start dinner. Shai Van entered, leading Lu Xun behind her. She and Ghost hugged briefly before she revealed her gift.

"We bought him today. He fought with Ling Tong in the Romance era. His name is Lu Xun."

Ghost studied Lu Xun, tenderly running her hands over his bruises. She circled him once and took his leash.

"Thank you. Has he eaten yet?" She asked.

"We gave him a baozi in town. Are you going to start right away?" Shai Van asked.

"Yeah. It shouldn't take long."

Thunder rumbled, louder this time. Ghost led Lu Xun outside and bound him to a wooden post in the yard. He shifted, nervous and uneasy. The tiger inside of him woke, and he bit his lip, trying to control the defiance inside of him. Ghost circled him once more, seeing the bit of defiance in his eyes. It was growing, more and more. He wasn't as meek and submissive as he looked.

"Who is your master?" She asked.

Lu Xun couldn't hold the teenage tendency of defiance back anymore.

"No one." He said coldly.

A whip lined with small metal barbs lashed across his torso. He spat blood but did not cry out. The thunder roared overhead. Ghost stepped back a few steps as the first drops of rain began to fall.

"Who is your master?" She asked again.

"No one!" Lu Xun shouted angrily.

The lash of the whip snapped on his bruised eye. He screamed in pain as the sky split open and rain poured down upon the two. Ghost's eyes now turned cold, looking at the boy in front of her.

"Who is your master?" She asked once more.

"No one."

She turned, walked inside the house, and shut the door. Lu Xun struggled against the ropes, finding them bound too tightly for him to squirm out of. The scratches across his torso were bleeding, and his eye stung with such pain that it could never be described with mere words. The rain felt like bee stings as the storm picked up. The lightning flashed overhead.

Lu Xun looked up at the sky, feeling a loneliness that he had never felt before. He screamed once, and tasted tears.

------

Chapter one! End!

No, Ghost isn't as much of a bitch as she seems. She just needs to know that lil Lu will be loyal to her. It will all be right in the end.

And as a note, baozi are those little meat-bun things that restore health in DW.

Anger? Comments? Ideas? All are welcome!


	2. Loyalty

**Some Other Time, Some Other Me**

And now I have returned in all my former glory.

Just remember, I abuse everybody equally. Lu is just the first.

Meh.

---

**Some Other Time, Some Other Me**

**Loyalty**

_What happened to you  
You've played the victim  
For so long now in this game  
What I thought was true  
Is made of fiction  
And I'm following the same  
But if I try to make sense of this mess I'm in  
I'm not sure where I should begin  
I'm falling  
I'm falling_

Hunger gnawed at Lu Xun's innards. He wearily looked up at the sky overhead. The rain had ended, but the clouds lingered still. The boy let his head drop, feeling defeat overwhelm him. He was just little Lu Xun, the world's doormat. He sighed, staring at the muddy ground around him. No better than a dog. That's what he was. No better than a dog, complete with a master.

The woman-so named stepped out into the morning. She stretched, her red and gold cards swirling around her, independent of though. She looked over at the pitiful form of Lu Xun, almost worthy of death. Two cards settled at her feet, and she stepped onto them, levitating her over the mud. This was in itself, a show. She didn't want her feet to get dirty yet. She would undoubtedly have a job later in the day.

"Who is your master?" She asked, gently lifting Lu Xun's head to look at her.

There was no resistance. No defiance. Complete surrender.

Ghost cut Lu Xun's bonds and caught him as he fell. She carried him into the house, much to the joy of Ling Tong and Shai Van. She laid the frail boy on a straw mattress and brought him food.

"I'm going to go see if there's a mission for us." Shai Van said before she left.

"Alright. Try not to get one of the damn save the village ones. We've done too many of those for the month." Ling Tong added.

"A supply raid would be nice." Ghost said.

Shai Van rolled her eyes and left. Ghost switched chores with Ling Tong, she beginning to prep weapons and lunch. Ling Tong, on the other hand, was tending to his friend, who was sound asleep. He had eaten everything that Ghost had given to him, and was now curled up under a tattered woolen blanket.

"Do you think he'll be ready?" Ling Tong asked.

"Tell me about him." Ghost replied.

"Well, he's one hell of a genius, but is very shy around women. He's...one fast little bastard too. It's a pain in the ass trying to catch him. He can seem cold, and can be considered a slave to his work. He can be a bit of a smartass, but eventually makes up for it somehow."

Ghost nodded, pouring soup into bowls just as Van returned.

"I have one." She announced.

"I have food." Ghost replied.

"What are we doing?" A small voice asked.

Eyes fell on their newest edition. Lu Xun slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes and fixing them on Ghost. She looked over at Shai Van, who handed her a slip of paper. Ghost read it over, her Hex Deck swirling around her.

"Ready to save some women from bandits?" She asked.

Ling Tong grinned and nodded, rushing outside to prep the horses. Lu Xun wearily got to his feet, a little uncertain of his footing. Ghost rolled her eyes and handed the paper back to Van, who followed Ling Tong outside. Ghost walked over to Lu Xun, taking his hand and steadying him. He still looked weak and fragile, but there was something in his touch that stated otherwise. Ghost sighed.

"What's your killing tool?" She asked.

"Twin sabers." Lu Xun replied. Ghost sighed.

"Alright. Use these...not exactly sabers but we're a little low on cash and iron."

Ghost handed Lu Xun a matched pair of daggers. Perfectly balanced, much like his own sabers. A little short, but he could use them. He thanked her, bowing deep.

"Hey! Ghost! Come on!" Ling Tong shouted.

"Use my horse. If you need help, remember...I am your master, Shai Van is Lady Van to you, and Ling Tong is your friend."

With Lu Xun on Ghost's great black horse, Ling Tong on a bay, Shai Van riding on a pure white mare, and Ghost walking, they headed off. Only one more step. One more step into destiny and danger.

And only fate would laugh at what was in store for them.

-----

Making his debut next chapter...

Zilong!


End file.
